Friday sports: Lady Jags finish softball sweep of Lewisburg 

It will be DeSoto Central as one of the teams playing in the 7A North Half softball finals next weekend. Saturday, they could learn who their opponent will be. 

Friday night, the Lady Jags of first-year coach Harley Bumpous completed a two-game series sweep of regular-season region champion Lewisburg with a 10-6 victory at DeSoto Central. The win came one night after DeSoto Central held off the Lady Patriots 4-3 in the series opener. 

It was DeSoto Central’s fifth straight victory, including the regular season finale and the four consecutive victories in the playoffs.

Thursday, DeSoto Central scored four times in the first inning in the win against Lewisburg and Friday had put runs on the board in the first two frames.

“You win the first inning and you win the seventh inning,” Bumpous said. “Those are the two hardest innings, but if you do that, you win most ball games.”  

The Lady Jags pounded out 13 hits against Lewisburg pitcher Emma Abrams, but none bigger than a fourth-inning grand slam home run by Katelyn Short, punctuating a seven-run frame that gave DeSoto Central a 10-2 lead at the time. 

“That set the tone for the entire game,” Bumpous said. “It solidified our dugout and I think that was a big time hit that solidified things for us.”

The Lady Jags scored once in the first and twice more in the second for a 3-0 advantage, but Lewisburg answered in the third with two runs of their own to get within 3-2 after three innings. 

That’s when DeSoto Central had the big inning to take the eight-run lead. 

Lewisburg would rally back with a pair of runs in the fifth and twice more in the seventh, but when Payton Moss struck out, the Lady Jags won their way into the North Half final series.  

Short’s grand slam was combined with doubles from Londen Armstrong and Maddie Hudson keyed the Lady Jag attack. Hudson and Armstrong both scored twice. Five separate DeSoto Central players each had two hits.  

Colby Young was the winning pitcher for the second straight game but was tagged for nine hits and six runs, five of which were earned.  

Lewisburg’s offense was led by Anna Etter’s two hits, including a home run, and four RBIs. Leona Klaire Stokes scored three times and hit safely twice, including a double.  

Abrams struck out six and walked four, but allowed 13 and 10 runs.  

Now the Lady Jags are two wins away from playing for a state softball championship.

“I’ve known since August that these kids are special and I’m happy to be a part of it,” Bumpous said. “They really are a great group of kids on and off the field.” 

DeSoto Central improved to 21-10 while Lewisburg ended their season at 24-7.

MORE DESOTO COUNTY PLAYOFF GAME RECAPS

BASEBALL

HERNANDO 8, LEWISBURG 5: Hernando forced a deciding game three in their 7A second-round playoff series against last year’s 6A state champion Lewisburg with Friday’s 8-5 victory. The Patriots came from behind to grab a 5-2 lead with a four-run fourth inning, but the Tigers came back with four of their own in the sixth and two more in the seventh for the victory.  Preston Johnson scored twice for Hernando, Cade Koczka had a pair of hits, including a double, and he drove in a pair of runs for the Tigers. Luke Romine also doubled for Hernando. Johnson was the winning pitcher in relief of Romine as the two split time on the mound. Johnson struck out two and walked three in relief of Romine, who fanned four and walked five.  Lewisburg was paced by Caden Nelson, who scored twice, Austin Hannigan with a pair of hits, and Kody and Gunner Gilmore, who each drove in a pair of runs.  Gunner Gilmore was tagged with the loss with one inning on the mound, where he allowed three hits and four runs. Starting pitcher Cayden Baker allowed four hits and four runs in the five innings pitched. Baker walked three and struck out seven in five innings.  The deciding game three goes back to Hernando Saturday night at 7 p.m.  

NORTHPOINT CHRISTIAN 10, JACKSON CHRISTIAN 5: The Trojans used a seven-run rally in the seventh inning to oust the Eagles in the Division II-A region tournament 10-5 at Jackson, Tenn. Friday afternoon. Northpoint trailed 5-3 going into the seventh but benefited from a grand slam homer by Jayden Parker during the inning. Parker and Nolan Bone each scored twice for Northpoint and Parker had three hits in the game, including the homer.  Isaiah Nolan doubled twice. Jace Robinson was the winning pitcher in relief of starter Seth Giamportone. Robinson struck out four and walked two, allowed one hit and one run in 2.1 innings on the mound.  Giamportone fanned six and walked four in 4.2 innings, giving up four runs and four hits. Northpoint returns to Jackson Saturday having qualified for the state playoffs as one of the Final Four from the West Region. Northpoint will play against First Assembly Christian School (FACS), starting at 1 p.m. at University School of Jackson.  

SOFTBALL

NORTHPOINT CHRISTIAN 9, JACKSON CHRISTIAN 5: The Lady Trojans advanced in the Division II-A region tournament with the Friday afternoon 9-5 victory at Jackson, Tenn. Northpoint held off a late rally by the Lady Eagles, which scored two runs in the fifth, a run in the sixth, and another pair of runs in the seventh. The Lady Trojans put the game away with three runs in the sixth inning. Macie Dever-Boaz scored three runs for Northpoint, had three hits, including a home run and a triple, and added two RBIs to lead the Northpoint offense.  Trinity Garvin struck out 11 and walked four as the winning pitcher, allowing five runs and seven hits.  Field conditions moved the game to Jackson from Northpoint but the Lady Trojans were the home team in the contest.  Northpoint will play next on Monday.  

7A baseball playoffs – best of three

Lewisburg vs. Hernando

• Lewisburg 7, Hernando 2 
• Hernando 8, Lewisburg 5 (Series tied 1-1)
• Lewisburg at Hernando – 7 p.m. Saturday

6A baseball playoffs – best of three

Center Hill vs. Grenada

• Center Hill 2, Grenada 1 (Center Hill leads 1-0) 
• Center Hill at Grenada – 3 p.m. Saturday
• Grenada at Center Hill (if needed)

TSSAA D2-A West Region baseball tournament

• Lausanne Collegiate 11, Northpoint Christian 0
• Northpoint Christian 10, Jackson Christian 5
• Northpoint Christian vs. FACS – 1 p.m. Saturday at USJ

7A softball playoffs – best of three

Lewisburg vs. DeSoto Central

• DeSoto Central 4, Lewisburg 3
• DeSoto Central 10, Lewisburg 6 (DeSoto Central wins 2-0)

Hernando vs. Germantown (Madison)

• Hernando 10, Germantown (Madison) 5 (Hernando leads 1-0)
• Germantown (Madison) at Hernando – 6 p.m. Saturday
• Hernando at Germantown (Madison) (if needed)

TSSAA D2-A West Region softball tournament

• Northpoint Christian 9, Jackson Christian 5

TSSAA D2-A West Region boys’ soccer playoffs

• Northpoint Christian 9, Harding Academy 0
• Northpoint Christian vs. Westminster Academy – at St. George’s (Collierville) Tuesday